Better Than a Hallelujah

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!  As I was driving in to work this morning Lord, the song “Better Than a Hallelujah” by Amy Grant came on the radio.  While the inspiration of those wonderful lyrics settled over me, it started me thinking about some the other fantastic messages I’ve received through Christian Music as of late.  As yesterday’s discussion we had was about the disturbing direction some media has taken, I thought today we could focus on the positive message that these songs bring to us instead.

Let’s start with the chorus from “Better Than a Hallelujah” :

“We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah”

What a wonderful way to say that You love us for who we are, and when we honestly seek You that our plea comes through loud and clear.  It’s a beautiful song, and always warms my heart when I hear it.

Another one I’ve become extremely fond of, and actually posted the video of as a dedication to my wife on Facebook the other day, is “Dancing in the Minefields” sung by Andrew Peterson.  Towards the end of the song, the lyrics contain the following verse :

“Cause we bear the light of the son of man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands
Till the shadows disappear
Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos baby
I can dance with you”

I love this!  What an amazingly powerful metaphor connecting marriage and the way that You love us.  It just makes me want to hold Shannon tightly when I hear it… What a wonderful message.

One more for the day Lord, and it comes from the song “Lead Me” as performed by Sanctus Real :

“To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone”

We’ve talked about this song before Father, but this truly represents my hopes and prayers as a father and Your Child so well that it can’t be repeated enough.  I see this song as a prayer from my heart, and strive daily to be the man this verse describes.

There are many more examples as well Lord, but these are a few that touch me the most.  It’s comforting to know that while Your Word may not be on millions of TV screens this Sunday, the airwaves do still carry Your Message of Love to us each day.  Thank You for reminding us of Your Love and Aspirations for us through these talented artists.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Chipping Away at Our Shell

Dear Lord; Good morning Father… And a frozen one it is!  The weather here has once again shifted and covered the Delaware landscape with Winter’s bounty.  This morning though, it’s not snow that layers the ground, but a shiny frozen sheet of ice and sleet.  This of course, makes traveling dangerous Lord, so please watch over those who are going out into this weather and keep them safe from harm.

As I was chiseling the ice from my “truck-sicle” this morning, waiting for the heater to add it’s inner glow to the effort it dawned on me that this was an interesting analogy to how You come into our lives (Ok, so this may be an odd tangent, but bear with me…).  We’re like the truck shrouded in ice; spiritually cold and covered in misunderstanding, pain and sin.  Little by little You scrape at our frozen shell, slowly revealing Your Light and Warmth to us until our inner heat kicks in and bridges that gap.

Ok.  I said it was an odd tangent, but I think a valid one all the same.  🙂

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your Diligence and constant Presence in my life.  Please keep “chipping away” at my earthly shell, so that I may see You with more perfect clarity.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Stuff that Dreams are Made of

Dear Lord; Wow Father… What a powerful morning You’ve presented me with.  I’m still not 100% sure what to make of it, but it’s got me excited nonetheless.

Now, I’ve never been a big nighttime “dreamer”.  In fact, I’m a chronic insomniac so when I do finally crash I very seldom remember what runs through my head the next morning.  Last night however, was a completely different experience for me.  Everything was so vivid, so real… When the alarm clock went off (and just FYI, I now realize that alarm clocks are one of Satan’s creations…LOL) I was truly shocked to find out that I had been asleep.  However, although I woke a bit disoriented I had an amazing sense of peace and of hope in my heart that hadn’t been there when I went to bed.  It was a wonderful feeling, but at the same time very confusing.  A little later, I was trying to make sense of it all while showering and You whispered to my heart :

“Expect something wonderful”

I’ve never put much stock in my dreams Father, but I’ve absolutely learned to be open to Your Voice.  This was such a powerful and unexpected experience for me, that I’m still having a hard time putting it into perspective.  Either way, no matter what the “something wonderful” turns out to be, I can’t thank You enough for the joyous feeling You left me with this morning.

On a different note Lord, I just had to share another piece of happiness with You.  Last night, Aidan and I finished reading the Book of Genesis in his new Action Bible.  He was beaming from the accomplishment, and went to bed with a smile on his face.  We also found and bought the DVD of the movie “The Ten Commandments” recently, and are planning to watch it this weekend so it’s a wonderful lead-in to reading the Book of Exodus.  Jonathan’s been reading Genesis as well, and I expect he’ll have it done in the next day or so as well.  Can You tell I’m proud of them Lord?  🙂

And we’re once again coming into a weekend Father.  Shannon and I are getting out for “date night” tonight, with the balance of the weekend being spent getting the Christmas decorations put away and putting our house back to some semblance of normality.  I’ll admit, I’m going to be sorry to see all the wonderful lights and embellishments get put away for another year, but it’s time.

Heavenly Father, I thank You so much for coming to me this morning.  The more I feel Your Presence with me, the more I know peace in my heart and go through the day focused on what truly matters.  Please guide me to better be Your Servant, and to shine Your Light to those around me so that they may know Your Love as I’ve come to.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Morning Realizations

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!  Well, once again You’ve set the conversation topic for our morning chat.  Here I was all ready to talk about plans for the new year, and then You intervened and kept redirecting me to discuss the morning rush at our house.

Well Father, as You know weekday mornings at our home tend to be a little on the chaotic side.  I’m the light sleeper in the house, so when the alarm goes off it’s me that gets up to start things rolling for the day (Shannon could sleep through a small nuclear device being detonated nearby… LOL).  The first 15 minutes of the day becomes a flurry of activity between running dogs out, to waking up children and finally prompting Shannon until she stirs as well.  Some days are better than others, but no matter what my “Wake Up Call” is never a welcomed experience by the rest of the household.  The balance of the next hour is spent getting everyone clean, clothed, fed and ready to get out the door in time.  All in all Lord, it’s a mad rush by four half-awake people that quite often leads to frustrations flaring up.

As they did this morning.

It’s funny, but I wasn’t sure what You meant when You whispered to me that we needed to talk about my mornings and almost dismissed it, but when I heard You clearly a second time it started me analyzing the morning ritual in general, and how it affects me.  Then I recognized Your intention… I’ve become resentful of being the one who has to be the “bad guy” each morning and hadn’t realized it.  Wow… What a powerful and worrisome realization that was.

Well Lord, once again You’ve made me pull out a demon I wasn’t aware of into the sunlight.

It hurts my heart to think I’ve become resentful of helping my family with anything they need, even though it’s not a happy task.  It’s a necessary role, and one that I’m best suited for.  I need to leave these feelings at Your Feet Lord, and do ALL I can for my family with love and care.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for helping me see this poison in my heart for what it is.  I pray that You help me release it from my spirit, and wake each morning with a joyous heart in the knowledge that I’m performing a loving act for those I hold dear.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Prayers for Some Troubled Friends…

Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father.  I know, it’s usually a morning correspondence but everything kept redirecting me this morning and until now, I didn’t know why.  I had a topic of conversation planned for today, but due to discussions with two different friends in the last few minutes, I need to shift my thoughts and prayers to their needs.

Dear Lord, please send Your Healing power to those of whom I speak.  Please let them feel Your Loving Arms around them, and the comfort of Your Presence.  Nourish and care for their troubled bodies, and lift their spirits that they may know Your Infinite Love is with them.

Amen.  ~Phather Phil